Agenda and minutes

Ian Seaton moved that Wendy Mead take the Chair until the election of the Chair. This was seconded by Deputy Mark Bostock.

Apologies were received from Alderman Masojada, Alderwoman Jenette Newman, Deputy Graham Packham, David Sales, Deborah Oliver, Jaspreet Hodgson and Caroline Haines.

The following Members observed the meeting via Teams:

Alderman Masojada, Jason Groves, Deputy Madesh Gupta, Alpa Raja, David Sales, Judith Pleasance.

John Foley declared that is a client of Hoare’s Bank.

Ian Seaton declared that his livery company (Worshipful Company of Girdlers) has a commercial relationship with the planning consultancy DP9 that is involved with one of the sculpture proposals submitted to the Committee.

To receive the Order of the Court dated 27 April 2023.

The Committee received the Order of the Court of Common Council of 27 April 2023.

The Committee unanimously and unequivocally expressed extreme disappointment that the Committee’s submission at the previous meeting (to amend section (m) to read “with all stakeholders” in lieu of “with the Policy & Resources Committee”) had been declined at Policy & Resources level, as notified to the Chair and Deputy Chair on 19 April 2023.

The Committee unanimously requested that the matter be reconsidered given the significance of the Committee’s input into the cultural strategy, noting that the matter would be forwarded firstly to Policy & Resources Committee, and then the Court of Common Council if necessary.

 To elect a Chair in accordance with Standing Order 29.

A single expression of interest being submitted in accordance with the newly-revised Standing Orders, in particular Standing Order 29, the Committee elected Munsur Ali as Chair.

The Committee congratulated Munsur Ali.

Munsur Ali and the entire Committee thanked the outgoing Chair Wendy Hyde, and Wendy Mead moved a Vote of Thanks that was unanimously approved, thanking Wendy Hyde for her for the courteous, enthusiastic and dedicated manner in which she carried out the duties of Chairman of the Committee since May 2020 and the leadership that she showed in steering it through significant periods of change over the past three years.

Wendy Hyde thanked the Committee and the Officers for their dedication, support and hard work.

Munsur Ali thanked the Committee for their trust and dedication.

To elect a Deputy Chair in accordance with Standing Order 30.

In accordance with the newly-revised Standing Orders, in particular Standing Order 30, the Committee elected John Foley as Deputy Chair of the Committee, a single expression of interest having been received.

The Committee congratulated John Foley on his election.

To consider the public minutes of the meeting of 27 March 2023.

RESOLVED, That the public minutes of the meeting of 27 March 2023 be approved as an accurate record of the proceedings.

On item 10, a Member asked whether arrangements had been made for the Culture Mile designation to be removed. The meeting heard that the branding in the public realm was expected to be removed by the end of June 2023, and that a rebranding exercise was expected to be under way during June 2023 to remove the Culture Mile designation.

To consider the report of the Clerk.

The Committee appointed the following Members to the City Arts Initiative:

Jason Groves, John Griffiths, Anett Rideg

as well as the Committee Chair and Deputy Chair (Munsur Ali and John Foley)

The Committee appointed the following Members to the Keats House Consultative Committee:

John Griffiths, Jason Groves

as well as the Committee Chair and Deputy Chair (Munsur Ali and John Foley)

Members are asked to note the Committee’s forward plan.

The Committee noted the forward plan.

To consider the report of the Director of Innovation & Growth.

APPENDICES IN SEPARATE PACK

RESOLVED, That Members of the Culture, Heritage and Libraries Committee ratify the City Arts Initiative's recommendations in relation to proposals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 as follows:

1. Tideway – Poems – Update on Legibility

2. 40 Leadenhall Street – Wind Mitigation Sculpture

3. London Festival of Architecture – Common Ground

4. London Festival of Architecture – Fleet Street Plant Press

5. Lester Partners Ltd – Shizo – A Replica of Alexey Nalvalny’s Prison Cell

6. Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks – Blue Plaque Application

To receive the report of the Executive Director, Innovation & Growth

The Committee received the report of the Executive Director, Innovation & Growth, noting the update on the development of the new destination brand identity and destination website ahead of its launch.

The Committee made the following points:

- It would be helpful to get a clear understanding of the overall vision and purpose of Destination City (DC) encompassing its overarching strategy (over and above events) that clearly referenced the City of London’s unique assets, cultural offering and website, noting that part of DC’s remit was to amplify the CoL offering

- More comprehensive information on the website would be welcome

- Five BIDs are in place, and these are answerable to levy-payers: it is reasonable to expect the City of London to co-ordinate and oversee those BIDs to ensure consistent and coherent messaging in line with any DC and CoL vision, and provide more detail on DC’s position above those five BIDs

- There is a general sense of ‘working in silos’

- Clarity on what BIDs are supposed to be doing around support for SMEs and micro-businesses would be welcome (and where support for such entities should be sourced if the scope is not covered by BIDs)

The meeting noted the DC roll-out was currently in line with a presentation given to the Committee at its November 2022 meeting that had included key timelines and strategic projects, and that stakeholder engagement was ongoing.

A formal presentation on DC was requested that would cover the remit and strategy of the organisation (see action point 1) together with information on DC’s implementation plan and an overall framework of the DC offering and approach, noting the cohesive and coherent element of recent Coronation events in the City.

A Member asked how the website’s success would be measured, and how that might differ from

Report of the Executive Director, Environment.

Members noted the report of the Executive Director, Environment.

To consider the report of the Executive Director, Environment

The Committee received the report of the Executive Director, Environment.

The Committee congratulated the executive team at Keats House for their work and progress in the last year.

Noting that Keats House was located some distance from the City, a Member asked whether, in the light of the Culture Mile branding wind-up, any impact on Keats House had been noted in respect of its ability to connect with the CoL’s cultural offering. The meeting heard that bids were being submitted for funding that had previously come through CM learning programmes (now coming through the Education Strategy Unit). The programmes included a joint oracy project and a joint bid with the London Metropolitan Archives on poetry and colonialism that would include a festival during the autumn 2023 season.

A Member commented that some Romantic poets had meaningful connections with other countries, citing Keats’s connection to Italy and Byron’s connection to Greece, and sought clarification on whether any cultural connections on that topic had been established with the relevant embassies. The meeting heard that there were presently no such connections though there were connections to other institutions that highlighted the international dimension of those poets. Further initiatives to broaden that scope were in progress.

A Member noted that at the November 2022 meeting of the Committee, approval had been given to the granting of a new licence to Keats Community Library to 31 March 2024. The Committee expressed disappointment that the licence had not yet been issued due to process issues. The meeting noted that the work on getting that licence was ongoing (see action point 4).

A Member sought reassurance that collaboration and partnership work was ongoing around digitalisation. The meeting heard that Keats House worked closely with the London Metropolitan Archives in particular as well as other CoL entities.

RESOLVED,

To receive the report of the Interim Director of Community & Children’s Services.

The Committee received the report of the interim director of Community and Children’s Services, and noted the factors taken into consideration in compiling the Business Plan for Community and Children’s Services, noting also that the Community and Children’s Services Committee had approved the departmental Business Plan 2023/24 at its meeting of 03 May 2023.

The Committee commented that there was merit in enveloping the City’s learning assets into the Destination City strategy, referencing in particular the Shoe Lane library development.

In response to a comment seeking clarity on library user types, the meeting heard that some data was available on users though there was no thorough data on differentiation between user types as the library service was a universal offering.

A Member commented that there was merit in exploring partnerships with other neighbouring boroughs such as Southwark and Tower Hamlets.

Report of the Clerk (NB: Appendix 2 is Non-Public).

The Committee noted the report of the Clerk, expressing disappointment that the Committee had not had the opportunity to review and discuss the matter in a committee setting.

A Member commented that the Bartholomew Fair concept appeared to have been diluted.

The meeting heard that there had been support at an early stage for Bartholomew Fair to expand beyond a single part of the City. A Member commented that there was merit in nurturing a village fete atmosphere, with local people invited to run stalls.

Members expressed concern that there did not appear to be sufficient time to deliver the Bartholomew Fair event, seeking clarification that the relevant agreements were in place and that confirmed dates were in place in order to prepare relevant parties, including voluntary organisations, influencers and tour guides. The meeting heard that programming was being finalised and would be communicated shortly.

In response to a comment around the clarity on funding and partner sponsorship, the meeting noted that a proof of concept was needed to seal sponsor deals and that the event itself was serving as a proof of concept that would generate data that could be taken forward ahead of future partnerships. The 2023 event would involve working on a value exchange basis with partners.

Members commented that events would benefit from being communicated in a more assertive and forceful way, noting that the City of London was at a different stage in its roll-out of the cultural offering, and that there were some limitations on billboard space in the City.

Members commented that there was merit in considering setting up a CHL working group to work with DC.

A Member asked whether the Committee would be involved in developing an overall strategy or vision on culture for the City, commenting on an apparent lack of any such vision and asking for clarity on the role of the Committee. The meeting noted that cultural matters should start at CHL level and then report upwards to the Policy & Resources Committee.

The meeting noted that a working group of relevant officers was being formed that was likely to result in recommendations to the CHL Committee that would inform consideration of the matter, noting that any such working group should report to the CHL Committee in the first instance. The Committee noted that outcomes of discussions within that working group would be reported by July (see action point 3).

There was no other business.

MOTION, that – under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED, that – under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the subsequent items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the non-public minutes of the previous meeting held on 27 March 2023 and to receive the actions from that meeting.

The Committee considered the non-public minutes of the meeting of 27 March 2023.

There were no questions.